Students’ answer to getting a job: more education

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau announced his plan today to help struggling youth find work but, for many, they’ve already found their answer — furthering their education.

According the report out today out by Statistics Canada, Further postsecondary education outcomes, one in four students who had attended university returned to school. This included pursuing a range of credentials: obtaining a diploma, certificate or university degree.

Jason Gilmore, a senior analyst at StatsCan, says it was the first time they collected this type of information in a monthly social survey. “As you can see from the results, just looking at university-degree holders, there are some interesting differences.”

The employment rate was 77 per cent for those who had more than a bachelor’s degree, compared to 73.7 per cent for those who only had the one credential.

It pays off to stay in school longer — seventy percent of those who held a university degree and additional post-secondary education earned $800 or more per week. Only 67 per cent who had a bachelor’s, with no further education, had similar earnings.

The most popular areas of study for the the 1.5 million students returning to school were business, education, and management and public administration.

The report did not break down the age of the students returning to school. If the students were young, there are many reasons why they would go back for more post-secondary education.

Jobs and the labour market are changing, due to a globalizing economy, competition and computerization. For young workers to stand out, they see more education and credentials as a means to increase their skill set, said Philip Oreopoulos, a professor of economics at the University of Toronto.

“They see another certificate as an attractive alternative to get additional credentials to stand out when they are trying to find work,” he said.

Employers looking to hire the best candidate often like to see other types of voluntary services, other credentials or even more specific skills — that are not coming through just an undergraduate degree.

Young Canadians struggling to get their first job might perceive more education as the way to get their foot in the door, but it’s not always more helpful in landing a career, says Peter Harris, the editor-in-chief at Workopolis.

“It’s not necessarily what Canadian employers are looking for,” he said.

“It’s not that they can’t find people with the certification they need, it’s experience, soft skills and technical skills — not educational credentials.”

“What they want is real-world experience. I know that can be hard to get without your first job.”

But having a highly educated workforce can help Canada’s global competitiveness, said Colin Busby, a senior analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.

“I think it should be an eye opener, these numbers.”

He says it shows people who do graduate value their education, or they wouldn’t be going back to school in such large numbers. It’s encouraging for the country’s economy, whose global competitiveness will be based on the skills of its workforce.

“To see these many adults, willing and able to go back to school, to refine skills, and work on them is a good sign for Canada to compete and be prosperous again.”

As the the election gets closer, parties are taking note of the issues involving youth unemployment and their struggles in the labour force.

While campaigning in Winnipeg Thursday, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair promised to provide $200 million over the next four years to create 40,000 jobs, co-op placements and paid internships for youth.

According to the CBC, Mulcair said “the job prospects for young people are not very good, and that has to change.”